Continuing an OFB tradition, we present our rankings of the Capitals’ prospects at the conclusion of the hockey season. Many of the names below you’ll have a chance to see at Kettler Capitals Iceplex this July, for Development Camp (July 7-12). What’s the lead storyline among the futures holdings? Gotta be the arrival of one of the best young hockey players in Western Canada, Karl Alzner — one of the best young players in Canada or anywhere else, for that matter. If he has a strong training camp come September he’ll bypass the American League this fall and begin his NHL career fresh from an awards-rich CHL career.
Another gleaning: that a Q-league scoring champ and MVP can’t crack the top 10 of an organization’s prospect rankings. That tells us that Ross Mahoney and his stable of scouts the globe over are getting it done.
| Name | Draft Class | ‘07-’08 Club | The skinny |
| Karl Alzner, D | ‘07, 1st Rd. | Calgary (WHL) | WHL Player of the Year, Defenseman of the Year, CHL MVP Finalist. Any questions? |
| Simeon Varlamov, G | ‘06, 1st Rd. | Lokomotiv (RSL) | Excellent RSL regular season stats, then, in the postseason, sublime: 16 games, 1.56 GA, five shutouts. Welcome to North American professional hockey, Simeon. |
| Sami Lepisto, D | ‘04, 3rd Rd. | Hershey Bears | So much for struggle in a rookie pro season in North America: 45 pts. in 55 Bears’ games, and a +29. A Tier I candidate for promotion to the parent club in the fall. |
| Andrew Gordon, RW | ‘04, 7th Rd. | South Carolina (ECHL); Hershey | Fought through early-season demotion, matured into reliable two-way, impact forward. Two hat tricks in his American League rookie season. Bright, bright future. |
| Chris Bourque, LW | ‘04, 2nd Rd. | Hershey Bears | Bears’ MVP; became a top performer in the American League the final month of the season; ready to stake his claim to a lasting promotion. |
| Josef Boumedienne, D | acquired from Ottawa, Dec. 2002 | Hershey Bears | Injury-marred ‘07-’08 campaign, but still posted 7 & 35 in 52 games, and a +18; less a prospect and more a quality depth signee; draft day trade bait? |
| Kyle Wilson, C | Signed as a free agent, July 2007 | Hershey Bears | Only Bear to play in every regular season game; nearly a point-per-game performer through two American League seasons. |
| Jay Beagle, C | Signed with Washington in March 2008 | Hershey Bears | Diamond in the rough? Big-bodied, mobile, and fancies the contact game; one goal shy of 20 in his freshman AHL campaign. |
| Francois Bouchard, RW | ‘06, 2nd Rd. | Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) | Strong but unspectacular ‘07-’08 campaign; much improved skater; needs AHL seasoning. |
| Joe Finley, D | ‘05, 1st Rd. | North Dakota (WCHA) | Enjoyed third straight season of statistical improvement — and ‘07-’08’s numbers included a conspicuous spike in offensive production; a team-leading +24; still magnificently mean and nasty. |
| Josh Godfrey, D | ‘07, 2nd Rd. | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) | 17 & 34 , +31, in 60 Greyhound games; Western Conference All Star; Team Canada WJC selection; time for pro hockey. |
| Michal Neuvirth, G | ‘06, 2nd Rd. | Windsor, Oshawa (OHL) | More prime-time performing: 7-2 for the Generals with a 2.48 GA, .932 SP this postseason; led Plymouth to the Memorial Cup last spring; time for pro hockey — South Carolina or Hershey? |
| Mathieu Perreault, C | ‘06, 6th Rd. | Acadie Bathurst | 2007 Q MVP, 2008 Q scoring champ; nothing left to dominate in major juniors; time for pro hockey. |
| Oskar Osala, LW | ‘06, 4th Rd. | Espoo Blues (Fin) | Returning to Europe to advance his development, Osala put up impressive numbers in Finland’s top pro league: 18 & 17 and a + 12 in 53 games; will be interesting to see what’s in store for him in ‘08-’09. |
| Daren Machesney, G | ‘05, 5th Rd. | Hershey Bears | Exceeding expectations — everyone’s — was the story of “Cheese’s” season. He got in 38 games with Hershey and went 22-10 with a 2.55 goals-against. He’s on track to be an elite goaltender in the American League; question is, with what Washington has arriving this summer in goal, is there room in the organization for Cheese? |
| Andrew Joudrey, C | ‘03, 8th Rd. | Hershey Bears | Solid first full pro season, often centering another prized Caps’ NCAA prospect, Andrew Gordon; strong on his skates, superb hockey sense, makes smart plays. |
| Stephen Werner | ‘03, 3rd Rd. | South Carolina, Hershey | Remains a longshot to see anything but a cup of coffee in the bigs. But his game matured in ‘07-’08. Skated a +4 for the Bears in just 8 games. Does have a pro stride. |
| Travis Morin, C | ‘04, 9th Rd. | South Carolina | Big, big numbers for the Stingray pivot: 34 & 50 in 68 games, including 14 power play markers; still has issues with skating and strength at the pro level. |
| Patrick McNeill, D | ‘05, 4th Rd. | South Carolina, Hershey | Split time between Carolina and Hershey this season; he’s undersized but not physically overmatched in the A; should enjoy a full year with the Bears in ‘08-’09. |
| Oscar Hedman, D | ‘04, 5th Rd. | Modo (Swe.) | A top-4 pairing blueliner who by the age of 22 had completed five seasons in the Swedish Elite League. Though I’ve seen only glimpses of him in WJC play, I wasn’t going to pass on the opportunity to have two Oscars in my table. Should Osala and he connect on a scoring play in a game with the Caps, it’d be the first Oskar-from-Oscar feat in NHL history. I really want that. |
16 Comments
Very nice analysis. I would say Alzner and Lepisto are with the big club from day 1 pushing Jurcina and Erskine to the 7 & 8 roles. I also see Bourque with a strong chance of making the club, plus if you’re looking for a sleeper to break camp with the Caps, how about Josh Godfrey? I could see him excelling in Bruce Boudreau’s system.
And a couple guys you left off. How about Keith Seabrook, Sasha Pokulok, and Viktor Dovgan? And chance Dovgan comes back to NA this year?
Dovgan has returned to Russia and I think has to be regarded as a long-term prospect project. Pokulok may as well be developing in Siberia; his was not what you’d call a profitable ‘07-’08. Seabrook probably has some intriguing upside but also isn’t in the near term timeframe.
Thanks for the great analysis and even more reason to look forward to next season. Given that Donald is not getting any younger and players willing to drop the gloves still have a place in the league, do the Caps have anyone in the wings that fit the bill?
That’s a great question, VT, and the answer as best as I can tell is no.
I think you’re underestimating Dovgan. He’s definitely one of our better blueline prospects, above Pokulok on the depth chart easily. He just has a family with visa troubles, which is making it tough for him to come over. Hopefully the Caps can get that ironed out this offseason, he would be a real asset in the AHL.
Just my 2cs but I think Alzner/Lepisto will be in Hershey next year. Considering the expectations for the Capitals are to go farther in the playoffs next season I find it hard to believe that the team will be breaking in pretty rookie dmen. Let them dev in Hershey. The time has passed to give rooks NHL play time so they can learn the game.
I very seriously doubt the Capitals consider Dovgan a better prospect that Pokulok; personally I’m not ready to give up on Pokulok yet. I think he’s getting a bit of a bad rap because the Capitals have enjoyed such rapid success with their first rounders recently, and given that he seems to have a good attitude and a lot of natural talent (plus his large frame), he can still have a very good NHL career if he puts it together in the next couple years.
Thanks for the analysis fellas.. Things definitely look promising for years to come..
Just a quick one though, can you add their respective ages to the table? Thanks..
Dez, I included prospects’ draft year (for almost all) so that readers could gain a sense of their respective ages. Figure 18 for each by draft year, though it’s true that in some cases kids are selected a little prior to their 18th birthdates.
I think that the caps will have to re-evaluate their defense. After watching Eminger sitting on the sidelines most of the season, and seeing a rookie stepping over him onto the lineup, he really came though in the playoffs. That alone in my mind shows that he has what it takes to play at this level. I think he definitely deserves a spot on the roster next season. I think that if they want to rotate some rookies up for playing time, they might want to think about sending Shultz down for some more experience. I think he has shown all season that he is still a little rough around the edges and with a little more development, could truly turn into the shutdown dman that we are looking for.
Just some of my thoughts.
John, I don’t believe Tommy Maxwell is under a Caps contract,and was hurt most of this year with the BEARS,but he could very well be a guy who is young, can fight and can play the game. He “could” be someone to keep an eye on should he remain healthy.
Are Kyle Wilson and Jay Beagle really ahead of Perreault? From what I’ve heard and read, Wilson and Beagle sound like your classic NHL work ethic but AHL talent guys who may not ever stick on an NHL roster, whereas Perreault has much more offensive upside. I’m also surprised you have Boomer so high.
I’m willing to give Pokulok a bit of a pass similar to Fehr. Sasha essentially missed almost a full year of dev. last year. Concussions problem could easily be career threatening so the big plus is that there has been no reocurrence. He’s played well for the caps ECHL team and I believe there was a nice article on Pokulok on how well he’s done down there. That being said if he comes into the Hershey camp this next season and still having issues establishing himself in the AHL then he most assuredly should be ‘dropped down’ the proverbial prospect list.
I don’t know about Dovgan. Was impressed that he came over and played being so young. Haven’t heard much of his play in russia this year and I’m sure it was family issues why he went back but his game seemed to be much more suited to NA style.
There’s nothing wrong with having rookie defensemen playing important minutes for a playoff team — it just has to be the right rookies. Dallas has 3 rookies this season on the blueline and they are obviously doing quite well.
If Alzner shows he’s got what it takes come Fall, then who cares if he is a rookie or not? If he is better than Jurcina and Erskine he should be out there. We know Jurcina and Erskine will make mistakes…at least Alzner (in theory) can bring a lot more upside to the defense.
I consider the “dark-horse” candidate to make the Capitals opening day roster to be Jay Beagle. I say he ousts none other than Boyd Gordon.
Regards the “D” corps, I see Jurcina bundled with Fleischman for a higher draft pick, or another journeyman D-Man. I envision Jurcina as the 7th D-Man next year, and that Emminger will get his ‘real shot’ at a full time pairing. Perhaps Alzner starts in Hershey, but we’ll see lots of him next year, as well as some of Lepisto. If Pothier does have to medically retire, then either Lepisto or Alzner starts the year with the Capitals.
Nice analysis, but isn’t Josef Boumedienne a little old to be considered a prospect?
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